


Will You...

by ughfitz (wokemeup)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 06:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7880926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wokemeup/pseuds/ughfitz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitz has a plan, and it involves one ring and Jemma Simmons (slight homage to The Office).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Will You...

It had been approximately eight months and twelve days since their return from their beach getaway. The moments they shared on that island had been wonderful --pure bliss-- a stark contrast from the bleak world they were currently living in.

Inhumans were being captured daily, the gruesome aftermath of their torturous kidnappings  publicized on the nightly news, and their once strong team was now a scattered unit: Coulson and Mack still spent all of their time looking for Daisy, while Daisy was out on the run leaving nothing but a path of destruction. May was on base with Fitz and Simmons, but she was hardly ever spotted outside of her quarters, leaving the two scientists to fend for themselves.

The new director was practical, liked order, and not much different from Talbot or any other leader coming in with a military background. Regardless of the director change, Jemma took  a job close to him, relaying information to both him and even more so to what was left of her team, her family.

Despite a crumbling world of uncertainty, one thing remained certain, only one thing seemed to grow stronger with each passing day; their relationship. It had finally reached a new stage, no longer that awkward newness of friends turning to lovers, or even the giddy phase of a new relationship. They had finally settled, and their relationship, despite some days of miscommunication and arguments, was as steady as ever, as easy as breathing.

They were given a bigger room once they had come forth with the news that they were indeed together, despite some fatherly grumblings from the then Director Coulson. The room  was equal parts Fitz and Simmons, some clothes scattered on the floor while the bed was always made each day.

After a particularly grueling mission, one which left Fitz nervously pacing the room until Jemma had shown up tired and slightly bruised, Fitz stayed up well into the middle of the night holding her as she slept, his body tired but his mind buzzing with scattered thoughts.

Jemma lay besides him, her breathing coming in long bouts, her eyelids flickering with lingering dreams, and Fitz couldn’t help but stare. The turquoise glow from the small night light on her side of the bed cast its light across her face creating shadows in the valley of her eyes and cheeks. She was beautiful, and in moments like these, Fitz had a hard time coming to grips that this was his reality.

After years of dancing around one another, years of the bloody cosmos trying to rip them apart, he was lucky enough to get to go to bed and wake up with his best friend, the most precious thing to him in the universe.

Knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to get any sleep tonight, he gingerly untangled himself from her and rolled out of the bed, cocooning the sheets around Jemma’s sleeping body, and pulled on a decent set of clothes before walking into the lab.

Once at his desk, he reached into a hidden compartment, the tips of his fingers hitting the furthest corner of it, before finally capturing the little item he was looking for. Grasping his hand around the small box, he pulled it out and, giving the room one quick glance to make sure he was alone, he opened the box and stared at the ring nestled inside.

Simple, but elegant, the diamond sparked even in the dimly lit room. He had made it, of course, though much sooner than he had anticipated. It became a nervous trait for him. The first mission Jemma had gone on without him, he had sat down to tinker with materials before realizing that he had created a ring. And every time after, during every nerve-wracking mission or tense moment, he found himself perfecting it just a bit more, a quick hit here, another buff there. But tonight, as he stared at the ring in all its glory, he realized that he hadn’t touch it once during this latest mission. Part of him must have realized it was  perfect, complete.

Now more certain of their relationship than ever before, more certain of himself, if he was being honest, Fitz, with the ring in tow, made a plan.  

\---

The first time, Fitz didn’t mean for it to happen. They were in their lab, both of them busily moving around the room working on their latest project. Jemma, with her things scattered neatly on her table, was engrossed in a particular chemical holding a beaker with delicate precision.

Fitz, for his part, was sitting at his bench willing his hand to relax. Despite some time since the incident in the pod and a near perfect recovery, some after effects, like a quickly tiring hand, still lingered. Today, after spending hours constructing the perfect mechanism for Jemma’s flawless chemical creation, Fitz’s hand was particularly tired, shaking a little harder than usual.

Flexing the tired muscles one last time, Fitz turned back towards his desk and tried to pick up the little chip he was working on with a pair of tweezers before unsuccessfully dropping it onto the floor. Muttering quietly to himself knowing that Jemma needed as little distractions as possible, he silently bent down on the floor and searched for the offending item.

Finally finding it, he twisted around and propped his elbow on his knee so that he could get a better look at the machinery. Noticing a small chink in the material, he distractedly called out to Jemma. “Jemma, will you--” he was cut off by a loud thunk coming from her work area causing him to quickly look up fearing something had happened.

Instead, he found her staring wide-eyed and opened mouthed at him. Looking behind himself to make sure nothing was there, he looked back at Jemma, a confused expression on his face.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, finally pushing himself up off the ground. With a deep red blush spreading across her cheeks, Jemma simply nodded and murmured distractedly something about jittery hands.

Forgetting his own question, Fitz slunked back into his chair and continued working on his portion of the project, eager to finish early so that both he and Jemma could return to their room and have a lazy date night in.

It wasn’t quite as early as he had hoped. Jemma, for reasons unbeknownst to him, had taken a much longer time finishing her portion of the project.

\---

The second time it happened, Fitz actually planned it. It seemed that Jemma was growing more and more suspicious of his secret drawer, and so, of course, he wanted to tempt her as often as he could. It wasn’t like he had this much power over her that often (and really, he thought, this would most decidedly be the only time he ever would).

They were outside of the base, a failed mission had led to one blissful and rare free day, and they had decided to head out on a mini road trip. It was wonderful having no clear route and no need to rush. It seemed like years since they had last felt this carefree, like a true couple. They bickered about which station they should listen to (Fitz insisted that it be some country station, it’s what all those characters in American films listened to), sang miserably off-tune, and laughed as the warm summer wind blew their joyous voices down the road.

After the past few years of pain and regret, this day was exactly what they needed. And when Fitz looked over at Jemma in the passenger’s seat, her hair whipping around her scrunched up face as she glanced through some trashy magazine, her head bopping absentmindedly to the music, he almost considered changing his plans.  _ How often would a moment like this come up again? _ he thought.

But he had a plan and while Jemma could be stubborn in her own right, Fitz could claim that title just as easily.

Looking down at the little tank signal on the car and realizing they were nearing empty, he quickly changed lanes and exited towards what seemed like the only shop for miles.

They were stuck in some charming town in the Middle of Nowhere, USA, the station classically decorated like one of those old-timey joints.

As Fitz filled up the car, Jemma ran inside to use the restroom and get some snacks. Once filled up, he pulled the car over to one of the many parking spots and ran inside to follow suit.

Returning from the restroom, he found her pursuing the gift shop portion of the station. Cheap but endearing trinkets filled the  tiny section. They laughed over the alien toilet paper, collected several keychains for later gift giving, and were nearly ready to leave when Jemma spotted the rings.

They were nothing special, of course, the kinds where the “gem” was likely to fall out and the metal would turn skin green, but they reminded her of them: a little rough on the outside but still determined to shine.

Fitz laughed, carefully plucked the one she was holding out of fingers and promptly turned towards the register. She chuckled and mockingly called out to him, only to jog to his side and loop her arm through his.

The old man manning the register simply smiled as he rang up their goods.

After a quick thanks and goodbye to the man, they headed outside but froze under the building’s tattered awning.

It was raining; not just sprinkling, rather, but a downright torrential rainfall was happening in front of them. It was a warm summer afternoon rainstorm, the rain coming down in sheets as the sun shone out determinedly. They stood there for a moment before looking towards one another.

She smiled brightly at him, her hair damp from the poor coverage of the awning, her face illuminated by the bursting sun.

He had a plan.

Pulling the cheap ring out of his pocket, he bent down on one knee, fiddled with the silver and blue trinket, before looking up at her.

“Jemma,” he called out, his voice nearing a shout from the downpour surrounding him. When no words were able to be formed, she simply nodded in return.

“Will you” he began as her face began shaping a smile, “hold this for me?” he asked, holding out the ring to her. “I need to tie my shoe and I don’t want to drop it.” He was full on smirking now as she slowly realized what he had done.

Yet again, she had fallen for his trick. Simply shaking her head and rolling her eyes, her face scrunching up in smile, she held out her hand and took the blasted trinket.

“Oh,” Fitz began, “You thought I...” he said, pointing between himself and the ring in her hand. “Ah, no, you wouldn't,” he mused, “You didn’t actually think I would propose to you  _ here _ ?” he mocked, his eyebrow raising.

Lips pursed in a half smile, she once again shook her head and simply helped heave him up. Sometime during his little stunt, the rain had stopped and a wide double-rainbow filtered the sky.

Walking back hand in hand, they reached their car and sped off, the quick trip a memory sure to be thought of for a long time, if not for slightly different reasons.

\---

The third time it happened, well...things didn’t exactly go according to Fitz’s carefully constructed plan.

He had timed it perfectly. The new director, as strict as he usually was, had agreed to let Fitz and Simmons off the base for the night as long as they returned by 10 PM sharp.

Fitz had purchased all of the necessary materials, had polished the ring enough times that he was sure it could sparkle even in total darkness, and had rehearsed his lines over and over until he was having dreams of them.

Fitz had a plan...but, of course, the bloody cosmos was never easy on them and soon his plans were thrown out the window.

It was a last-minute mission that gone bad. Jemma, still grumbling about their canceled plans, had just been by his side when suddenly he found himself alone. And just as quickly, it was quiet, much too quiet for the commotion that had just occurred. Walking around the abandoned building, the light from the flashlight shaking with his nerves and adrenaline, he whipped the light from side to side trying to get a better survey of the room.

Turning the light to the right in another sweep of the room, Fitz nearly dropped the device when he finally saw her.

There was a large gash on her forehead and her paler than usual skin was glistening with a sheen layer of sweat, her eyes drooping. Rushing to her, he nearly reached her when a swift punch to his gut sent him careening towards the ground.

It was a blur after that, several voices shouting as a scuffle above him went on. His last image before his vision became too blurry was of Jemma, her hair billowing around her head and her eyes closed. He reached out for her hand, warm skin colliding with cold, before his world went completely dark.

Sometime later, his eyes cracked open and he was greeted with a blinding light. His head was pounding and the brightness caused tears to pool as a groan escaped his lips. After a moment, he opened his eyes fully and realized he was back in the base lying in one of their medical beds. Sitting up and removing the mess of wires from his skin, he desperately scanned  the room for Jemma and noticed her lying in a similar bed to his right.

As quickly as he could, Fitz swung his legs over the side of his bed and fumbled his way over to her. Her face was still pale, the gash now covered by a large gauze bandage, and her arms littered with tiny bruises.

Even in her deteriorated state, she still looked beautiful to him. Running a hand over her forehead and hairline, he continued looking at her, willing her to open her eyes and look at him.

Jumping a little at the knock on the door, he turned around to find May staring at him.

“She’s going to be alright, but we used a heavy sedative on her. She had some internal bleeding and several superficial cuts along with that big one. Fitz,” she said in a tone that was oddly quite motherly for May. “She’s going to be alright, Fitz,” she repeated. Realizing his hand had begun shaking, he took a deep breath and nodded at her.

Giving him one last lingering look, May quietly ducked out and the two scientists were once again left alone.

Four hours later, four agonizingly long hours later, Jemma finally woke up, her panicked reactions to find him, similar to Fitz’s.

When she looked up at him, his eyes staring back at her, large tears bubbled up, threatening to spill over at any second.

Reaching over to swipe the tears away, they simply smiled at each other, content to never let go of one another.

Time passed as they shared the tiny space of her bed, her head resting comfortably on his chest, the vibrations of his voice along with the steady thumping of his heart made for the perfect song.

Clearing his throat and pulling her out from the haze she had seemed to fall into, she looked up at him, his smiling face staring back at her.

“Uh, this, uh, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. I had a whole plan, you see--” he stammered out, his voice a little shaky. “But after what happened, after everything that’s happened, really, I don’t want to wait any longer.” Reaching back behind him to the table besides her bed, he fumbled around for a moment before retrieving the desired item. Returning with the little black box, he popped open the lid to reveal its contents.

The ring’s sparkle was nothing compared to the brilliant smile that lit her face.

“Jemma Simmons, will you--”

“Yes!” she cut him off before he was able to finish. Jutting her face up to his, she captured his lips with hers, a smile adorning both of their faces. “Couldn’t let you trick me for a third time,” she mumbled against his lips.

Leaning back and looking at her, he slipped the ring out of the box and nestled it onto her finger, quietly muttering “Marry me,” earning a chuckle from Jemma.

It didn’t go according to his plan, not at all. But at the end of the day, the girl he was madly in love with had his ring on her finger and he was going to be able to spend the rest of his life with his best friend.

It couldn’t get any better than that.

\---

“Wait,” he called out as they laid in each other’s arms, finally in the comforts of their own bed. “A  _ third _ time?” he questioned.

“Yes,” she sighed, “I really thought you were going to propose to me in the lab that day. I was so flustered I dropped my tongs!”

“In the lab…” he muttered, his eyes scrunching in confusion. “In the lab!” He finally exclaimed. “You thought I was going to propose to you, why?” His face morphing into that cute expression Jemma loved so much.

“You were down on one knee and were holding something!” she shouted.

“You mean when I dropped the S4 chip? I was just checking for cracks, found one, actually, and was going to ask you if a stronger material would be affected by your chemicals...oh...” he nodded in realization.

“Exactly,” she smirked. “Ah, well, the past is in the past. You finally came through and that’s all that matters,” she beamed at him. With a searing kiss that quickly escalated, she suddenly pulled away and turned her back towards him. Chuckling at his loud pants and small squeaks of protest, she simply grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her waist. “Night, Fitz. Turnabout’s fair play.”

Chuckling slightly at her antics, Fitz wound his arm tighter around her and settled in. “Love you,” he whispered.

“Love you,” she whispered back.

**Author's Note:**

> I finally was able to write _something_ after getting myself stuck in a major creativity block! This fic, in addition to The Office, was also slightly inspired by [this](https://recoveringrabbit.tumblr.com/post/149083260862/heres-what-i-would-love-if-the-season-opens-with) post from recoveringrabbit! Endless thanks to writeonthrough for betaing this and for being quite the lovely cheerleader! <3
> 
> Thank you all for checking this out :) Feel free to chat with me over on [Tumblr](http://ughfitz.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
